Zero2: Round and Round
by ZRO4825
Summary: Sequel to Zero2: The Never Ending War, my previous story.
1. Chapter 1

SIGNAL LOST

BEGINNING FILE RETRIEVAL

FILE RETRIEVAL SUCCESSFUL

PROGRAM RESURRECTION INITIATED

LEVEL 1 DIAGNOSTICS STARTING

RETRIEVAL OF LAST KNOWN MEMORY BACKUP IN PROGRESS

ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETION: 6 MONTHS

Zero2. Second Coming

Clashes of energy sabers could be heard throughout the headquarters. No matter what hall one walked down, it seemed the echo carried everywhere. A young woman sighed, her red hair nearly trailing the ground behind her as she walked, carrying her one year old child in her arms.

"Asleep even through all this racket. You'll sadly have to grow up accustomed to the sounds of war, in spite of your father's best wishes," she told the sleeping toddler, sniffling slightly as her mind threatened to break down once again. She knew why he was gone. She knew why he wasn't back yet. But knowing why and growing accustomed to the lack of his presence were two entirely different matters.

The sound of metal plates bending and buckling under the force of robotic bodies being slammed off of them resounded throughout the chamber as X and Signas fought once more, the practices becoming almost deadly in execution, even tho neither one was at full power.

X idly switched to his Falcon Armor, speeding up and boosting straight at Signas, who was just touching down from being thrown. In mid-flight, X switched to his Gaea armor, becoming a quickly approaching wrecking ball. Signas jumped to the side, slashing at X as he passed, tagging him past the main armored portions of his armor, leaving a mark that singed slightly as X crashed against the wall, his trajectory thrown off in his attempt to dodge the blade. Signas smirked slightly from his crouched position several yards away.

"You're getting sloppy, X. You'd never have tried something so headstrong before, especially against a quicker opponent like myself." X smirked back from his indent in the wall.

"You're right. Didn't think that one completely through. It's a valid tactic though I think once I work on it some more. The biggest problem with it is the lack of mobility once I'm moving. The Gaea armor is extraordinarily tough, and hits harder than it seems like it could. But it sacrifices nearly all movement above normal speeds for that power." X frowned as his reploid mind quickly began working over the issue.

The floor suddenly exploded between Signas and X, fire and ice seeming to suddenly appear in a virtual storm of projectiles from a center point, keeping X pinned against the wall and Signas dancing away quickly.

As quickly as the elemental storm appeared it was gone, replaced instead by the white armored form of Zenton, who spun, bashing X even further into the wall that he was already planted against. X swore as he felt even the Gaea armor being punished by the edge of the sonic axe.

Signas moved quickly to counter the interruption, but not fast enough as another, larger form suddenly appeared between him and Zenton, the ground exploding toward him as Toronto slammed his fists down.

"You're both getting clumsy if Zen and I can get the drop on you this badly," came the rumbling voice of Toronto as he walked up to Signas and pulled him to his feet. Zenton reached into the crater he'd slammed X into and yanked him free, the metal wall screaming in protest as it was pulled partially back into place.

"Thanks, Zen," X muttered as he regained his footing, shifting back into his normal blue armor. "And you're right, I think I need to have Light run another scan, see if maybe some of my equipment's malfunctioning."

"I don't think it's your equipment that's doing the malfunctioning, X" Zenton said morosely. "I think you know the problem's in your head, just as it is for the rest of us."

"Then I've got to learn to shut it out to avoid more problems in the future, don't I?" X responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "After all, if there's nothing left for him to have to fight, then there's no reason we'd HAVE to bring him back to this base, and he wouldn't be endangering anyone, would he?"

Zenton shook his head as X walked out of the practice chamber, making sure to hit the button on the wall that would set the holographics engine to reset as they exited.

Alia and Roll both laughed as they watched Crystal's attempts to calm her child down. Though the redhead was doing all she could, she began to look flustered as the toddler continued wailing. Alia walked over to Crystal and held her arms out, taking the kid for a few minutes so Crystal could take a small reprieve. She waved her thanks as she walked out of the room, Alia cooing gently and patting the child's back as she walked back over to where Roll was.

"You get much better at calming him down, and Crystal's gonna start having suspicions about if she's truly the mother," Roll remarked, her smile bright as she watched Alia's cooing starting to have the desired effect of sleep.

"I think it's partially because children are more empathic than one would believe. They pick up on the emotions of the one holding them, and react accordingly. I know Crystal tries to hide it, but you can see by watching her just how much of an effect this is all having on her." Alia replied, setting the kid down in his crib. "I'm just glad we were able to have Light renovate their room so she had space enough for all three of them."

"Well, you know how he is now days. Likes to be adaptable as he says," Roll commented as they both walked out of the nursery room into the main room, taking turns keeping their earpiece tapped into the circuit built into the room as they began to go about their normal routine.

"Why am I letting all of this bother me so much?" Crystal thought to herself as she dried herself off from her shower. "It's getting worse instead of better as time goes on. If I let myself continue down this path, then I'm putting our child in danger of losing it's mother as well."

As she dressed herself once more, she stopped and glanced in the mirror. Two bright green eyes shone back at her, her hand moving to touch the mirror just below them.

"Since when did I ever look at myself with anything other than resolve?" She wondered. Her eyes softening as she stared back at herself. "I'm happy with myself, and with who I'm with. I wouldn't be proud to call myself anyone else's wife. So when do I get rewarded for my patience?"

"It doesn't matter," she said out loud to herself, her eyes hardening with resolve again. "I can wait as long as I need to. He _will_ come back, when he knows it's safe."

She glanced down and realized she was standing in a puddle of water. Sighing she grabbed her hair and began to wring it out over the tub.

"He better still love my hair when he comes back, or I swear I'm cutting it all off!" she exclaimed, laughing at her own silliness.

Alarms went off in the corners of Light's main control room, Alia and Crystal both jumping into position at their stations immediately, Signas between them awaiting their word.

"We've got a distortion field!" Alia shouted as X and the others ran into the room behind her.

"Beam us NOW!" X shouted as he stepped into the center platform.

Crystals hands typed in commands faster than they ever had before, this being their first spotting of the distortion field in almost a month. The attacks against the base had been getting worse as time wore on. Dr. Light's face appeared in the terminal screen, maps popping up as he pinpointed locations via his scanners.

"It appears he's back, and unfortunately I'm not referring to Zero, much as I wish I was," he stated simply.

"I don't care if he's revived himself again somehow, Doc," X stated fiercely, his eyes gaining the purple look that had originally been a mark of Zero's rage. "He can stand up a million times, and I'll just knock him down again. Now get me beamed into that distortion field before we lose him again."

A blue beam left the room suddenly, Crystal and Alia both typing furiously at their stations to adjust Light's sensors to the interference.

"And what do we do, Doctor, in the case that this time they're able to get there in time?" Signas asked."

"We hope they're able to at least do more than just get another holo-sphere. Zero seems to be very determined not to let anyone he cares about near him, for fear of that energy taking over and harming those he fought so hard to protect," Light responded as the distortion field seemed to shrink on his screen.

"Are you girls actually managing to clear some of it out?" Signas queried, moving up behind Alia.

"Not me," the blonde replied, pointing at Crystal who's fingers were somehow moving just as fast as Alia's, in spite of her still human body. "She's all over it nearly faster than I can respond. Once she's converted she's going to be damned scary." Signas could only watch as Alia merely went through and cleaned up behind the patches where Crystal had done the majority of the clearing, his eyes widening as he realized to just what extent Crystal was pushing herself in order to keep up with Alia to such a degree.

X touched down and immediately shifted to the Falcon Armor, dashing straight for the middle of the electrical storm he saw brewing over a plasma lit battlefield a short distance away. As he flew over the field he looked down and aimed himself towards the middle of all the commotion, switching to the Gaea armor and smirking as he fell towards the chaos.

The ground exploded where he impacted, leaving a crater six feet deep and twelve feet wide from his short fall, Maverick reploids flying out in all directions as X stood quickly, shifting armors and blasting each before they had a chance to regain their feet. He dodged to the side as a powered up shot flew through where he had been, shifting his attention and returning fire to where the blast had come from, his usual calm blue eyes still glowing purple.

"That blast had a plasma heat trail again," he thought to himself. "Just like that last distortion field I beamed down into. Is it Zero?" He thought as he charged towards where the projectile had come from, dodging as several more came from the darkness ahead of him, the abandoned city around him having lost power years before. He shifted into his Blade Armor to blend in more with the surroundings as his assailant fired more wildly. He heard muffled cursing as he seemed to disappear from sight, watching as a blue energy saber coalesced quickly into visibility. X's eyes widened as he realized who he was up against.

"WE'VE GOT ANOTHER DISTORTION FIELD!" Crystal shouted as the monitors lit up with repeated warnings. "It's headed straight for X and the others!" Even Light's virtual eyes widened as he realized the implications.


	2. Chapter 2

Zero2-2. Ch.02: Release Of Pent-up Frustrations

X stepped further along in the shadows, using all the advantage the stealth he gained in the Blade Armor would allow him, wanting to make sure he was fighting who he thought he was. As he jumped up to a nearby ledge, he looked down, peering through the darkness and trying to catch details as they were lit by the blue energy saber.

"Damned prototype, why is it no matter how many times I catch him in an ambush I can't seem to keep him pinned long enough to destroy him completely?" Sigma's voice rang out through the ruins. X smirked behind the mask of his armor.

"Just as I thought, Sigma once again. That's a Light-designed body he's using though, and I think I know who's it is as well. Never thought he'd come across enough scraps to actually piece him back together. Then again, he may not have, he may have just tried to dig up the old schematics and rebuild him, like he did with Zero that one time. Seriously getting too used to him doing this though. I thought I'd've felt something a little more than just observation at seeing this," X thought to himself. Suddenly the comms link in his helm came to life.

"X, this is Light, you've got a second distortion field headed your way," Light quickly told him.

"A SECOND field?" X almost shouted mentally through the link, Alia yelping in surprise on the other end, eliciting a chuckle from Crystal. "How the blazes is there a second field, Doc? I thought we'd pinned that distortion down to being specific to Zero, or were we mistaken?"

"No, X, we definitely weren't mistaken before, but it's been a while since we saw the last one, and that one was definitely Zero, this one had the exact same pattern to it, my guess is that Sigma has somehow learned a way to project the same field pattern to scanners, since it's rather obvious that he's incapable of using the same power." Light responded.

"Well, in any case, looks like Sigma's picked a new body. It's one of your old designs. And by old, I mean pre-reploid ancient." X replied. "I'm pretty sure he has to have just come across old schematics and rebuilt it, since we never found anything more of him before the capsules were put into effect."

"You mean he's using Blues' old design."

"Seems that way, Doc, although he's definitely done some refitting, since he's carrying an energy saber, but the schematics were copied well enough to have your signature coloration, and the buster leaves the same heat trail as ours."

"Very odd, more-so that he was able to replicate the design so well. It's possible I suppose that he actually DID come across the old shell of Protoman, and took it over, then refitted it to his liking. That seems very unlike Sigma tho," Light replied slowly.

"In any case, I'm going to wait and see what happens since you said a second field is headed this way. That means the other one IS Zero, unless Sigma's learned to reproduce the distortion field effect, and keep it mobile." X answered, sliding back down to ground level.

"The field headed your way is definitely Zero, Crystal punched through Sigma's fake field very quickly, with Alia fine tuning along the way, and they can't get through that second field at all. Once Zero's near you, you're on your own until he represses that power. Be careful." Light commanded, the comms link going dead in X's helm.

"Alright Zero, time to see if you've figured out how to control yourself. One way or another, I'm bringing you home to your family," X said to himself, as he settled near a corner, noticing the approaching electrical field in the distance. As he watched, Sigma's controlled body looked the same way, settling into an awaiting stance as the distortion grew more and more visible.

The edge of the town exploded into chaos, Maverick pieces flying in every direction as a gold and black blur moved through the center of them, a red saber and white energy beams slashing out in inconcievable patterns, seeming to the naked eye more like a twirling light show, leaving destruction in it's wake. Just as quickly as the dust began to settle, it was raised once again as the now visible Zero dashed straight for Proto-Sigma, the energy field condensing into a blade of energy extending from his left arm, the red katana-like energy saber leaving a trail behind it in Zero's speed.

X could only watch wide-eyed as Zero collided with the still form of Proto-Sigma, who seemed to have not moved until he was violently launched backwards, leaving a dust trail as he skidded along. The dust cleared to reveal him still standing, the energy saber held in a blocking pose.

"So you managed to block that. I'm almost impressed, Sigma. Strikes me as ironic that you had to take over an old shell of Light's robots in order to even stand a chance," Zero called out as the dust settled further. His agitation became more and more pronounced as he talked, his eyes shifting from purple to solid red. "I knew you'd come back. You always do. You're truly the one virus that seems to always avoid being wiped completely out of every system. Why couldn't you have just stayed dead so I could actually learn to control this power, so I could go be with my FAMILY?!?!"

As Zero shouted out the last of his sentence, he brought both arms up, unleashing an inferno of plasma energy down the street Sigma stood on. X jumped to a nearby roof to avoid being burnt by the residual heat, shifting over to his Falcon Armor in mid-jump. The blast stopped as abruptly as it started, leaving the area eerily lit by the plasma fires dancing on the walls. Proto-Sigma stood on a roof overlooking the street, whistling lightly.

"Yes, I'm quite glad I got out of the way of that. In spite of the enhancements I've included, I'm still not sure this old shell would've stood up to that. THAT is why I can't just lay down and die, Zero. Because of people like you. You're an enigma. You're as bad as I am about not staying dead. Every time I come back to try again, you're always there to try and stop me. Only for once you finally didn't succeed. And it left the world in ruins, it left things as they are now. Because you finally failed to come back as quickly as I did. And yet, here we are once again. And you've once again broken all the power limits I thought were previously in place." Sigma crossed his arms, his face mostly unreadable behind the mask that was still part of Protoman's features. "How you and X continue to rise up to everything I do is simply astounding. But, all good things must come to an end. After all, X wasn't the only prototype ever built by Dr. Light. It seems his brother's systems are nearly as unlimited as his are. And for once, I think I've discovered how to actually make them work."

As Sigma droned on Zero reached back and socketed his saber, the energy field around him becoming noticeably stronger. X once again watched as Sigma suddenly vanished, reappearing just in front of Zero, the energy field coalescing into shape in front of Zero and blocking the seemingly wild swings of the energy saber. Zero stood motionless all the meanwhile, his eyes studying every motion of Sigma's attacks. Sigma's curses filled the air as he realized that once again he couldn't get past that energy field, until suddenly Zero reached out and grabbed Sigma's saber arm, holding it with one hand as he reached back with his other arm.

"RAKUHOUHA!" Zero shouted as his arm shot forward, planting the center of the explosion in Sigma's chest. X's reploid eyes watched as in the milliseconds before the actual explosion, the energy formed around Zero's hand, keeping all the blast focused forward, blowing Sigma clear down the block again, skidding through several of the plasma fires still burning. As Sigma regained his feet, Zero brought both arms up, unleashing once again the inferno that had previously engulfed the street. As the air cleared from the plasma trail, Sigma stood up from the fire, heavily damaged, though still alive. He grinned from behind the broken faceshield of Protoman's helmet.

"Excellent, Zero." Sigma gasped out. "Keep that hatred burning. I'll be back again."

As Sigma teleported away, Zero threw another plasma blast through the space where he had stood.

"Piece of garbage excuse for a reploid," he muttered as he turned to leave. As he walked away X dropped in front of him from the roof.

"Surely you don't think you're going to just walk out of here, do you? Not without some sort of explanation." X said from in front of the S-Class Hunter.

"My power isn't under control yet. I can't risk coming back to the base," Zero replied, turning his head. He felt X tap him on the chest, turning back to look at him, right as X's fist connected with the side of his helmet, sending him crashing into the side of a building.

"Strange, a little tingly, but other than that, my hand feels fine. And that certainly wasn't a hug of any sort." X remarked, looking at his hand as if nothing were wrong with it before cracking his knuckles. "So, you coming home willingly, or do I drag you back, kicking and screaming?"

Zero sighed and stood back up straight, sadly looking at X. "I've got it repressed for now. It's still just under the surface, that's why that tingle is all you felt. This is what happens if I let it loose completely with no sort of restrictions," Zero replied, the energy that moved under the surface of his armor expanding around him, till it covered the block, X standing nearby still, as if nothing were happening.

"So did you learn to control it just now, or has it been harmless to me the whole damned time?" X asked, his face unreadable. Zero's face was in utter shock as X stood in the midst of the field, unharmed. Agitation and regret at never having contacted the base took over, angering him to the point where his eyes shifted again, and as soon as they shifted, suddenly X dropped to the ground, shaking as the field began to affect his circuits. "Holy hell..." he muttered between gritted teeth. Just as suddenly the field went back to being harmless to him again. Zero suddenly began to laugh.

"What the blazes is so funny, you damned blonde clown?" X asked as he regained his breath.

"It's so stupidly simple I never even thought about it, nor thought to test it if it ever did occur to me." As X watched, Zero lifted his head back, flashing out of his armor, laughing uncontrollably. "I was trying so hard to just force it into submission I never thought about just allowing it to lessen itself."

X quirked an eyebrow at Zero's antics as he watched him shift back into his armor, his normal red coloration showing instead of the black lightning covered form he'd grown used to thinking of. X shouted in surprise as suddenly Zero toppled forward, unconcious, catching him just before he would've toppled past X's height.

"X to base," he called out over the comms link.

"X, you're alright!" Alia yelled, causing X to yelp in surprise as his ears felt nearing exploding. Alia remarked sarcastically, "Payback's a bitch!"

"Love you too, yeesh," X replied, rubbing the side of his helmet encased head. "Beam me back...and prepare a table, Doc. I'm bringing someone home."

Author's Note: Sorry for the way my paragraphs are getting seperated, if they're bothering anyone. I've been having a few rounds with the editor on the site, and for some reason, it just REALLY doesn't want to cooperate with me on leaving stuff the way I have it typed out originally, i.e. single lines and then double spaced for spots where I wanna switch scenes. Not to mention it's not keeping spots where I've tabbed in to start a paragraph. Much annoyance, considering I don't wanna have to go back through and respace EVERY line. .;


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch.03 - Bittersweet Homecoming**

"So you found him like this, X?" Doctor Light asked, confusion evident in his computerized tone.

"Not at all. You saw the distortion field, the one you guys couldn't clear. That was his. He came in through town, blew through every Maverick within the block, then proceeded to thrash Sigma like it was nothing. The power wasn't affecting me at all through his entire fight, but I get the feeling it's learned to separate it's targets from what he's fighting, and what he's not. Hell, for all I know it's targeting something else, like the Sigma Virus itself. Either that or he's somehow worked it into his mental facilities to the point where it acts off of his subconscious and doesn't immediately lash at those he knows are friendly." X talked as he set the unmoving form of Zero down on the table Dr. Light had brought up.

"Very strange, and very intriguing. And you said it never affected you at all? We couldn't see into the field the least bit till he collapsed."

"Only time it did is when he realized he'd let it go completely unrepressed and it wasn't affecting me. Then when he got ticked about that, then it actually affected me. Which somewhat debunks the idea of it targeting the Sigma Virus since it's not in my system anymore. Dropped me straight to the ground. Which is confusing as it is, since I don't recall it ever doing that to Sigma either, tho it seems to have a more solid effect against Sigma anyway." X shrugged as he offered what explanation he could.

"Then we'll just have to get him fixed up and woke up. Then, after a certain someone has torn a few strips and possibly more than a few hairs out of our good man here, we'll have to question him about it." Light intoned, glancing off in the direction of a very agitated and anxious redhead who was being gently held back by Roll.

"Speaking of which, Doctor Light, why'd he collapse anyway? It's not like we suffer from exhaustion due to lack of food or anything." Alia asked, looking up from her station, pausing in a moment with her part in the scanning.

"System overload, most likely. Just like how a normal human can become overwhelmed, so too can a Reploid. At least one that's been appropriately programmed. Since the Reploid mind is designed to only be faster than a normal human being's, they can still become overwhelmed in the case that they try to handle too many emotions at once, or too many details. Though the chances of that kind of situation arising are far less than of a normal human being. The only problem is the possibility of burnt-out circuits in such an occurrence. Which is why we're scanning him so thoroughly. He may or may not wake up any time soon, whether we find burnt circuitry or not. Currently it's looking like nothing is fried, but at the same time, he did just spend over a year hopping around the country, with no time to rest, all the while keeping that power going. Even if he was keeping it repressed, it's bound to have had some sort of impact on his systems. Besides, you _do_ have a finite amount of energy you can store for use. X and Zero both just seem to store more, and produce energy nearly as fast as they use it. Most likely an alteration of the same evolution that keeps them both increasing their power capacity."

* * *

Zero woke to a pounding skull and sat up, one huge hand immediately going to his forehead as he groaned at his discomfort.

"Ugh, note to self, no more playing with whatever I played with last." He looked around, squinting against the harsh lights focused on him. "Alright, either I'm having a dream, or I'm back in the lab. Either way, I can't see a damned thing."

The lights moved away from the table, allowing Zero to see further around him as he hopped down off the table and stood.

"Okay, seem to have all of my motor functions intact at least. Now to find out where I'm-" Zero was suddenly interrupted as his large frame was rocked off-balance by a fierce tackle from someone significantly smaller, his breath leaving him as the impact knocked him over. He rolled with the hit as the assailant immediately bounded away, coming back up to a three-point stance, one hand reaching for the handle of the Z-Saber only to find empty air. "Well that's not good, to say the least."

"You're a liability to all of those around you." A feminine computerized voice intoned from seemingly every direction around him.

"SO BE IT!" He shouted back defiantly, the air around him suddenly brightening as the energy crackled to life once more in his systems, his armor immediately recoloring back to black, his eyes shifting to the purple of his focused rage. Still the darkness surrounding that ring of energy remained. "As long as it makes this world safer for my kid, for my family. If I'm the only danger left, then I can live with that result. Better that my kid grow up never seeing me face to face than to not grow up at all!"

"Can you truly believe that? How can you protect something if you're never near it?" The same computerized voice asked. Zero glanced around, trying to make out more details, powerless to use his systems to their fullest without his saber. Something about the situation was nagging at him as he realized that somehow his systems were actually being far more limited than they should have been.

"So you've taken my saber, and somehow locked me out of a good portion of my suit's extra functions. And yet you still can't lock down this power that makes me such a danger. Somethings tells me that you're not quite as knowledgeable as you want me to believe." Zero responded angrily. His eyes began to waver between purple and red as he glanced around, still unable to pierce the black veil that seemed to limit his vision. As he looked he noticed a strange sort of glow begin to take form in front of him. Readying himself as best as he could, he launched into the attack, bashing his fist down swiftly through the space where the glow started, instantly spinning as the glow split into four distinct pieces, kicking out to trip what would've normally been someone's feet, only to see the lower two glows bob up just over the range of his foot. As they 'landed' Zero swung again, his uppercut moving through the point between all four glows, only to see one move in and slap his arm aside. Hopping back he took up a defensive stance.

"_Something about this is nagging at my memory, if only I could figure out what. Your turn either way._" Zero thought to himself as he waited for the glows to go on the attack. They didn't disappoint, launching into a spinning trail of light, assailing Zero from multiple directions. "_Okay, seem to be following normal humanoid limitations, no more than two directions of attack at once, balance being maintained. Something about this is still familiar. Far more hand-to-hand training than I've ever seen out of any Maverick._"

Zero continued blocking the attacking glows, occasionally getting caught as the speed of the attacker began to increase. His eyes widened as suddenly all of his defenses were blown open and a solid kick threw him backwards, violently slamming into a wall and forming a small crater. As he dropped back to the ground he quickly brought his hands back up, only to be swept off his feet, his midsection again taking the brunt of an assault as he was kicked into the ground before he could start to fall.

* * *

"Ya know, this isn't even nice." X commented, watching a screen. "I mean, we just brought him back into the base, he's not even woke back up in the three weeks since, and the moment you detect mental activity, we throw him in the training area?"

"You know just as well why we're doing this, X" Light replied, his face showing up in a corner of the screen X was watching. "Mostly to detect how exactly his systems are reacting with the usage of that power, which is actually a lot more stable right now, and stabilizing even more as we speak. And also, to test our newest convert."

"I still can't believe you converted her that fast. You had this planned out before, didn't you?" Roll asked from where she was standing behind the 'boys'.

"I've had quite a few months now to work on the designs as she requested, and also to scan her in preparation. That's what takes the most time when converting humans anyway, is scanning their body to make sure the biological functions all line up correctly." Light responded, wincing as Zero took another nasty impact with a wall.

"I'm more surprised how well she's moving already. She reminds me of when we woke Roll up. Except possibly scarier, considering she's actually far surpassing Zero's current speed, even if we did handicap him a good deal by taking away the saber, and throwing him up against her the moment he woke back up. But then you actually went and managed to program the simulator to repress his full detection functions, a small percentage of his overall speed, and his visor so he can't see past that black area around him. At least it's somewhat appropriate who he's getting his ass kicked by." Zenton commented, Toronto chuckling lightly behind him.

* * *

Zero ducked under a high kick, only to have another sweep knock him to the ground, before his breath was explosively knocked out of him by yet another axe kick dropping down on him. He rolled as quickly as he could to avoid another, moving to one knee and watching as the glows all seemed to fade out.

"_Ugh, it's like waking up from being asleep for far too long, I can't get anything to respond as fast as I normally can. Movements are all sluggish, and this attacker actually has an edge on me in terms of speed right now. Hell, more than an edge. If only I knew where my damned saber was._" Zero closed his eyes for a moment, seeing the glowing spots had reappeared, taking on slightly more focused appearances now. As they came back on the attack he focused on each and every attack, his body falling into a pattern of blocking them. His eyes widened suddenly as he flowed around one of the kicks into a spinning elbow strike where the head should've been. His arm impacted with nothing more than air as he suddenly felt full contact on the rest of his body.

"Well, husband, while we did handicap you a touch, I'm more than a little disappointed that it took you this long to remember how those katas went. Even if they were on a slightly more lethal speed level." Zero looked down to see a helmet similar to his own with a long tail of red hair coming out of the back. He could only stare openly as the helmet lifted, Crystal's face showing, tears slowly running down her cheeks. She sniffled slightly as Zero's fingers brushed a tear away. "So, do I pass my initial combat test?"

"But...you...how...when...what?" Zero's brain tried to comprehend everything at once, accomplishing nothing in the end as Crystal began to break down into a full wail, throwing herself against him. She flashed out of her armor as he set her down in front of him, dropping down with her, holding her tightly.

* * *

"Okay, no more letting him out of the base for extended periods of time," X remarked, grinning. "That poor girl is gonna go into a full system lock I think if we ever have to do this again."

Zenton and Toronto both laughed, Signas smirking as well while both Alia and Roll were sniffing slightly and wiping away tears.

"It's sweet how much she loves him. Besides, I know how she feels. She's just a bit less...reserved than some of us." Alia finally replied, walking over and placing her arms around X from behind him. X's face grew bright red and he started digging a trail in the non-existent dirt at his feet, only to have Alia's arms tighten more around him."And about Crystal, she only does this I think if she's separated from him and doesn't know when he's coming back. It wasn't very often, but occasionally when we were watching the scanners, you could just catch a hint of it in her eyes. Not to mention how tired she's looked lately. Roll probably noticed it as well."

Roll suddenly yelped and ran out of the room at full speed just as Alia finished, causing the others to look at where she'd been in confusion.

"The kid just woke up," Alia supplied, tapping the side of her earpiece.

"Has his father's timing for dramatic moments then it seems," Signas quipped, causing yet another laugh from everyone.

"By the way, how come no one mentioned she could fight like that?" X asked. "Put some weapons on her gauntlets or something and she'll be a force all on her own. Let alone with the rest of us."

"We actually _did_ mention it when she first appeared. No one bothered to actually check on it though, and then she was pregnant. If I had to take my guess at things, I'd say she's been practicing when none of us are looking. Except for Doctor Light, who keeps his mouth shut on all of our private activities anyway. But she's actually a damned freaky hand-to-hand fighter. Apparently some style passed down in her family, even if only from one side of it. Japanese roots on her father's side, from long before the Robot Wars, let alone the Maverick uprisings. Somehow they've managed to keep that in the family line since. Her other side apparently is from Scotland, which is where she gets her hair and eyes from. I think I heard her mention it was known to show up randomly in her father's side too, the hair at least. Makes for a devastating combination in that girl though, Japanese will and fighting spirit, backed by Scottish stubbornness. She got the best of both sides. She was always one of our home base defenders. Some of the rest of us went to attack somewhere, she was one of the ones we left in charge of defending the camp." Zenton supplied, rambling on for far longer than most were used to hearing from him.

"That's right, you've known them both for quite some time, haven't you?" X asked, rubbing at one side of his helmeted head. "Not sure how I forgot about that. Too much on my mind I'm sure."

* * *

Zero waited as Crystal began to calm down, hiccuping slightly as he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"You almost done? You're gonna dehydrate yourself if you get me any wetter," He asked gently, only to chuckle as she awkwardly punched him in the shoulder. He flashed out of his armor, only to panic slightly as she started to wail again. Wrapping his arms tightly around her he waited once more, smiling gently as she finally sat back. Her slight sniffles echoed in the now lit chamber, as she stared into her lap, only to look up as Seero pulled her chin up with one hand. "I said I wouldn't leave you. I hold to my promises. I'm sorry I took so long to get back."

"You jerk," she finally stammered out, her eyes red, her cheeks soaked with trails of tears. "Do you know how worried I've been? All we had to go on was those holos you kept managing to leave."  
"I know. I wanted to make sure you had some way to know I was still coming back. I didn't think it would take me so long. Nor did I think that Sigma's armies would be so relentless." He felt tears slide down his face as he saw the depths of the hopelessness she had been holding back.

"I was afraid I'd be raising our child alone. I was afraid you'd never come back, that you'd just keep finding one excuse after another, or that you'd never learn to control it." A new torrent of wails broke from her as all the fears washed back in, crashing over her anew.

"Shhh. I know, and I'm sorry. Nothing I can ever do can bring back that lost time. And I regret that far more than I can say."


End file.
